Wardrobe suitcase



May 27, 1930. E 1,760,098

WARDROBE SUITCASE Filed July 5, 1929 Patented May 27, 1930 UNITED s'rA'rEs m ELLSWOB'IH 'W'ILT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WILT TRUNK CO1l.[-

PATENT OFFICE PM, or cmcaoo, ILLINOIS, aoonronarron or ILLmoIs WARDROBE SUITCASE Application filed July s, 1929. Serial No. 876,049.

This invention relates to suit cases and more particularly toa wardrobe suit case in which garments may be arranged over a hanger or hangers and be packed and carried without becoming disarranged or wrinkled.

[Oneof the ob ects of the invention is to produce a case which, although not large enough to receive the coat of a mans suit Without folding the same, nevertheless, is so designed that garments, particularly such as are needed for a complete outfit for a man,

It is not new to provide case, large enough to receive a mans coat without foldingthe same, with a hanger fixture and hanger, but'it is believed applicant is the first to produce a case of conventional size, in this instance 23 x 15 x 5", in which garments may be arranged over a hanger and be retainedin their intended places in the case, regardless of the position of the case, without crushing or disarranging the garments.

One of the features of the invention is the absence of retaining straps which invariably wrinkle the garments, theyare intended to hold in. position.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a perspective view of a suit case embodying my invention, the same being open to show the interior.

Figure 2 is a cross section of the case shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the removable tray which is part of the case.

In the following description, the walls of -the case are designated as top, bottom, and

side walls, according to their positions when the case is uprightithat is, as carried by the hand-hold secured to the top wall.

In the drawings, the main or larger of the two body members of the case comprises a wall 5, which is one of the side walls when the case is upright, as when it is being carried, a bottom wall 6, top wall 7, and two end walls 8. The top wall 7 is not as wide as the bottom Wall '6, making the interior ofthe main body member of the case deeper, transversely of the case, at its bottom than at its top.

and 10, may be folded and carried therein without 1 becoming wrinkled.

On the inner surfaceof the top 12 there is secureda fixture 14, with which the hook of the hanger 15 may be removably engaged. A pair of flexible straps 16 are secured to the two body members of the case. to limit the extent of movement of one part relative to the other, and t0 holdthe smaller body member =in convenient position for packing the case when itis open.

A bracket 17 is secured to the inner surface of each of the end walls 8 of the main body section by fastening means 18. These brackets support a removable tray 19. A shoe bag 20, relatively long and narrow, is removably secured to the inner surface of the top wall 7.

The tray 19 is 'an important feature of the invention. As shown in Figure 3', it comprises a fiat bottom 21, a narrow longitudinal side wall 22, end walls 23, and a curved longitudinal side wall 24, having an extension inwardly of the tray as indicated at '25., Lifting tabs 26 are attached to theend walls-23.

The positions of the brackets 17 on the end walls 8 are such that when the tray 19 is supported thereon, thetop of the tray and its contents will be spaced from the side wall 9 about the same distance that the wall 21 I of the tray will be spaced from the side .wall 5 of the case. The tray is as long as the interior of the. case and its width, including the side wall 22 and the curved wall 24, is

slightly less than the distance between the shoe bag 20 and the wall 6. v

The coat 26, trousers 27, and Other ga -r1 ments are arranged over the hanger or hangers 15 in the smaller of the two body members and the lower portions of the garments are arranged smoothly upon the inner surface 3106 of the side wall 5, which appears as the hot:

tom of the case when it is in the position shown in Figures 1 and 2. The shoe bag is not rigidly secured and therefore the garments, if they are suificiently long, may be smoothly tucked between bag 20 and the wall 5. The garments are not strapped in but hang naturally from the hanger 15, against the side wall 9, bottom walls 10-6, and then rest upon the surface 5. Then the tray 19 is placed in proper position, with its curved wall 24 25 adjacent the garments and opposite the bottom walls. When the case is closed and supported on its bottom walls 6-10, the garments will be neatly folded over the curved part of the tray, will be prevented from shifting and because of the spacing apart of the folded parts of the garments by the tray between them, the fold or crease will not show in the garments, no matter how long they are kept in the case.

The provision of a. wide top wall 12 for the body member affords'ample room in that part of the case'where thehangers and thickest parts of the garments are placed. The wall 22 of the tray, which is opposite the hangers and thicker'portions of'the suspended garments is made narrower than the curved wall 24.

If the shoe bag 20 is dispensed with, the tray 19 may be made wider than it is shown, so as to'occupy the space now taken by the shoe bag. The width of the tray should be such that there will be a limited space between the curved wall 24 of the tray and the bottom Walls 610 of the case,

' The tray of the present invention is an open top container for various articles, and may be said-to be a floating tray, that 1s,

it is freely movable in the case to automatically. accommodate the garments which'may he carried therein. When the case is empty and resting in the position shown in the drawings, the tray is movably supported on the bracket, 17, and if garments placed in the case are sufficiently thick to require more space than that shown betweenthe tray wall 21 and case wall 5 when the tray rests on the I brackets 17, the tray will be raised by the garments from the bracket supports and will occupy some of'the space shown in the drawings between the open top of the tray and the cover. Furthermore, the tray is freely movable between the bottom and top walls of the case to accommodate various lengths and thicknesses of garments which may be resting between the curved wall 24 and bottom wall of the case. The position of the tray or con- "tainer is variable and is determined by the of the articles packed in the case. The clothing is not required to be fitted into a predeter- 7 the clothing.

gage embodying my invention as a wardrobe .suit case, it will be obvious that the invention may be embodied in a traveling bag,

luggageand is not to beconfined to the type of case conventionally known as a suit case. While I prefer to use the brackets 17 to support the tray, obviously they may be dispensed with forthe tr'ay could be supported in its intended position by the garments when hung in the bag or case and folded about the tray as herein explained.

Obviously, changes may be made in details of construction without departing from the scope of my invention, and I do not intend to be limited tothe exact form shown and described, except as pointed out in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A suit case comprising two body members hingedly secured together, a floating container in the case, said container being of a width and depth less than the width and depth respectively of the case, and adapted to be spaced from the walls of the case when closed, the extent of the several spaces between container and casewallsbeing determined by the thickness of the clothing in the case, and the longitudinal wall of the container facing the bottom wall of the case being curved transversely ofthe container.

Gladstone bag, suit case, container or other i and means secured to the main section adapted to hold the tray-spaced from the side walls of the case sections to provide a space for the clothing, said tray being of a width less than the width of the case between the top and 'ing section and a cover section hingedly secured together, a floating tray within the case -I10 bottom walls and slidable relative to said-- and normally spaced from theside, bottom and top walls of the case'scctions when closed" to provide 1 a continuous space for clothing,

and means serving to center the tray transversely between the case sections, said tray having a roundedw'all facing the bottbm wall of the case and being slidableon the, centering means toward and from the top and bottom walls ofthe case to engage and held In testimony that I claim the fore 'oing as my invention, I aflixmy'signature, this 29th day of June, 1929. a

E. ELLSWORTH WILT. 

